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Design and Development of the Ecocar Vehicle and the Vehicle Controls Providing Efficiency and Drivability

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Design and Development of the Ecocar Vehicle and the Vehicle Controls Providing Efficiency and Drivability Design and Development of the EcoCAR Vehicle and the Vehicle Controls Providing Efficiency and Drivability THESIS Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Eric John Schacht Graduate Program in Electrical and Computer Engineering The Ohio State University 2011 Master's Examination Committee: Dr. Giorgio Rizzoni, Co-Advisor Dr. Shawn Midlam-Mohler, Co-Advisor Dr. Yann Guezennec Copyright by Eric John Schacht 2011 Abstract The OSU EcoCAR Team is comprised of a diverse group of students ranging from underclassmen to graduate and engineering to business. This diverse team provides both the ability to take on aggressive designs and meet ambitious goals, but also presents a unique set of management and leadership responsibilities. The team management and growth was critical to being successful in meeting timelines and goals amongst diverse experience and levels of involvement. First, this thesis will include elements and details on how this team management and leadership was structured and changed to produce results. Next, the EcoCAR competition vehicle was designed to maximize efficiency and performance while minimizing emissions and petroleum usage. The Ohio State team designed a unique extended-range electric vehicle (E-REV), which uses two electric machines and a battery to power the vehicle for 40-45 miles until an E85 engine turns on and provides the power. The OSU vehicle is unique in its capability to use the front powertrain as an electric drive, auxiliary power unit (APU), or hybrid drive. The design will be explained in this thesis with a specific focus on the benefits of the design and the unique transmission system designed to provide vehicle function. The vehicle design presents a wide variety of controls options and challenges when managing energy, drivability, and performance. This thesis will also dive deeply into controls algorithms and decisions for the vehicle control algorithm design, calibration, and improvements. Topics such as controls hardware and software structure will be explained along with a i variety of test results from simulation and vehicle testing. The results show a very comprehensive control system and vehicle design capable of a wide variety of operating conditions and speeds. In all cases, the design provides robust and reliable operation with high efficiency and performance. ii Dedication This document is dedicated to my beautiful wife Katie for all her patience, support, and love during completion of graduate school and the EcoCAR Competition. iii Acknowledgments I would like to thank the EcoCAR Team for the enormous amount of help I received from my teammates on completing the EcoCAR vehicle. I would also like to thank Dr. Shawn Midlam-Mohler for his tremendous dedication to the team as an advisor and mentor his passion for education, engineering, and innovation is inspiring and contagious. I would also like to thank Dr. Midlam-Mohler for his lively conversations about vehicle design and controls. I would also like to thank Bernhard (Bernie) Grimm for his outstanding help with the control of the EcoCAR vehicle’s electronic throttle and his work with the all electric mode software. Additionally, I would like to thank Dr. Giorgio Rizzoni for his tremendous support of projects such as EcoCAR and the students that are involved with them. Lastly, I would like to thank friends, co-workers, and teammates Brad Cooley, Beth Bezaire, and John Kruckenberg as well as many other EcoCAR teammates for their help and advice in many aspects of research and development of my thesis, course work, and overall EcoCAR Team Leadership. iv Vita June 2005 .................................................. Canal Winchester High School 2010........................................................... B.S. Electrical Engineering, The Ohio State University 2010 to present ......................................... Graduate Research Assistant, Center for Automotive Research, The Ohio State University Publications “Addressing Drivability in an Extended Range Electric Vehicle Running an Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy (ECMS)” Fields of Study Major Field: Electrical and Computer Engineering v Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................ i Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv Vita ...................................................................................................................................... v List of Tables .................................................................................................................... xii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. xiv 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Motivation ................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 EcoCAR: The Next Challenge .................................................................................. 2 1.2.1 Vehicle Development Process ............................................................................ 2 1.3 Thesis Overview ........................................................................................................ 4 2 Literature Review............................................................................................................. 6 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 6 2.2 Hybrid Vehicle Architectures.................................................................................... 6 2.2.1 Parallel Architectures ......................................................................................... 8 vi 2.2.2 Series Architectures .......................................................................................... 10 2.2.3 Multi-Mode Architectures ................................................................................ 11 2.3 Supervisory Control Systems .................................................................................. 13 2.3.1 Rule-Based Control .......................................................................................... 14 2.3.2 Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategies (ECMS) ............................ 15 2.3.3 Neural Network Based Control ........................................................................ 17 2.4 Driveability.............................................................................................................. 19 2.4.1 Metrics and Measurements ............................................................................... 19 2.4.2 Controls for Driveability .................................................................................. 21 3 Ecocar Team Development and Management ............................................................... 22 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 22 3.2 Recruitment ............................................................................................................. 22 3.2.1 Engineering Recruitment .................................................................................. 23 3.2.2 Business/Outreach Recruitment ....................................................................... 24 3.3 Team Management Structure .................................................................................. 24 3.3.1 Structure of Leadership .................................................................................... 24 3.3.2 Project Timelines .............................................................................................. 26 3.3.3 Training ............................................................................................................ 27 3.4 Project Teams .......................................................................................................... 27 vii 3.4.1 Team Composition ........................................................................................... 28 3.4.2 Mentoring ......................................................................................................... 28 3.4.3 Detailed Goals .................................................................................................. 28 3.4.4 Time and Resource Management ..................................................................... 29 3.5 Motivation and Retainment ..................................................................................... 30 3.5.1 Job Placement ................................................................................................... 30 3.5.2 Application of Classwork ................................................................................. 30 3.5.3 Career Goals ..................................................................................................... 31 3.6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 31 4 Vehicle Design and
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